decidióvsdividióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“decidió” and “dividió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,893
“decidió” frequency rank
#19,703
“dividió” frequency rank
21596
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decidió dividió
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de decidir o de decidirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de dividir o de dividirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set decidió and dividió apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
decidió
7 ch
dividió

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. decidió ([d̪esiˈð̞jo]) and dividió ([d̪iβ̞iˈð̞jo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decidió is recorded at frequency rank #1,893, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪esiˈð̞jo]. dividió is at rank #19,703, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪iβ̞iˈð̞jo].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 21596, this pair ranks #254,211 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of decidió vs dividió

Shared letters: dió. Private to "decidió": ce. Private to "dividió": v.

"decidió" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "dividió" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

decidió#1,893
dividió#19,703

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decidió" and "dividió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([d̪esiˈð̞jo] versus [d̪iβ̞iˈð̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "decidió" or "dividió"?
"decidió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,893 in our Spanish list, against #19,703 for "dividió". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering decidió vs dividió

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “decidió” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list